| 01 December 2011
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, and considering that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 had the biggest entertainment launch in history, that means that many of you will likely either be receiving Modern Warfare 3 for Christmas or purchased it recently.
Online gaming environments can be pretty intimidating, especially for Call of Duty. Since the game has already been out for a couple of weeks, new players face a steep learning curve. Even those who have some experience playing previous Call of Duty titles or other first-person shooters may find it a bit daunting.
Luckily, I’m here to help.
Now I’m no pro by any means, but I more than hold my own. I’m going to pass along some trips, tricks, and advice I’ve learned along the way to help ease your transition into the online battlefields of Modern Warfare 3...
Tip #1: Don't do this
Patience
First off, it’s important to have patience if you want to fully enjoy Modern Warfare 3. Things are going to be rough at first. As a rookie, you’re at a disadvantage. You don’t know the map layouts, best sniping positions, or where the chokepoints are. There are certain areas in each map where most of the action occurs. Also, you’re going to be outgunned. You can’t create your own class until you rank up to Level 4, and while leveling up occurs at a rapid pace initially, you still won’t have access to all the weapons and perks as most of the other players. For instance, I love the Assassin perk. It makes you invisible to UAVs, thermal scopes, and heartbeat sensors. Unfortunately, it isn’t available until Level 27.
You’re going to take some lumps early on, but have patience and stick with it.
For those of you who have played Modern Warfare 2, things will look and feel pretty familiar. The gameplay and controls are the same. There are some new weapons and attachments, but the biggest and most noticeable changes are Proficiencies and Strike Packages.
Weapons Proficiencies allow you to tailor your gun to your style of play
The former are basically perks for your weapons. You level up your weapons just like you level up your character. As you level up your weapon, you unlock attachments like the grenade launcher and ACOG scope, but you also unlock Proficiencies.
These are things like Kick, Impact, Attachments, and Focus that allow you to further customize your weapons to fit your style of play. Kick reduces recoil, for example, while Focus reduces the weapon flinch that occurs when you are struck by enemy fire.
Attachments allows you to have multiple attachments on your gun, such as a silencer and a red dot sight, while Stability reduces weapon sway when you’re aiming down the sight.
Anybody who has played a recent Call of Duty game is familiar with Killstreaks, but for those of you new to the franchise, they are rewards you get for killing several enemies in a row without dying. For example, if you get three kills in one life, you can call in a UAV that reveals the locations of opposing players. Get five kills, and you can call in a Predator missile strike. The more kills you rack up without dying, the better rewards you earn.
In Modern Warfare 3, killstreaks are now referred to as Strike Packages, and you can choose between three options: Assault, Support, and Specialist.
Assault is basically the same killstreak format as previous Call of Duty titles. The killstreaks available are generally offensive in nature; you can equip sentry guns, air strikes, attack helicopters, and gunships. When you are killed, though, your streak counter resets to zero.
Support packages are more defensive or supporting in nature, hence the name. You can call in a cache of ballistic vests that teammates can wear to provide them with greater protection. UAVs and SAM Turrets are other options. There are some offensive options such as the Airdrop Trap, Stealth Bomber, and Remote Sentry. Unlike the Assault packages, however, your streak counter does not reset when you die.
That means that instead of having to kill 14 people in one life to unlock a Stealth Bomber, you merely have to get 14 kills over the course of the game to call it in. If you’re not one who generally gets big kill streaks, or a new player who is unlikely to do so until you get more accustomed to the ins and outs of multiplayer, opting to go the Support route might be your best choice, at least to start.
The Specialist package lets you earn perks. Two kills unlocks say Sleight of Hand or Scavenger. Four kills unlocks another perk, and six kills unlocks yet another perk. To be honest, I have never used the Specialist option, but it’s there if you want it. I have heard it’s a great way to earn XP and level up.
Play Style
One of the most appealing aspects about Call of Duty is that it offers a multitude of options that enables players to customize their character to fit their preferred style of play. Prefer a stealth approach? Then equip your weapon with a silencer and choose Blind Eye, Assassin, and Dead Silence. If long-range combat is more your forte, you can choose a sniper rifle with a variable zoom scope and Marksman Pro, allowing you to identify target and longer range while also holding your breath for a longer period of time.
It’s important to figure out what play style suits you best. I prefer to be stealthy, so I generally use an assault rifle or submachine gun with a silencer while equipping perks that pretty much render me invisible: Blind Eye Pro, Assassin Pro, and Dead Silence Pro. I like to set up ambushes or sneak around and flank the enemy, so avoiding detection is key. The silencer cuts down on the weapon range, but it doesn’t give away my position when I fire.
Those aren’t the best choices if you want to run’n’gun, though. Extended Mags gives you more ammo, and if you’re running around, being stealthy isn’t important. Perks like Sleight of Hand or Steady Aim would be better fits for this style of play. For a great description of an ideal run’n’gun loadout, check this out.
At the end of the day, choose what you feel most comfortable with. A machine pistol is a great secondary weapon, but if you rarely find yourself using it, then maybe opt to go with a launcher to take down UAVs and helicopters. I prefer Assassin or Quickdraw out of the Perk 2 options, but maybe you want to go with Overkill and be able to carry a shotgun and a sniper rifle, for example. The choice is yours.
Game Modes
Team Deathmatch is generally the most competitive gametype, so you may want to get your feet wet on one of the other game modes. Objective games are great because your kill-death performance doesn’t influence the match. If you go 9-21 in Team Deathmatch, your team will probably lose, and you’ll likely catch some flak for it. If you do that in Domination or Sabotage, your team can still win. Plus, you can contribute in other ways like planting/defusing the bomb or capturing points. Ground War has 18 players, so there are more teammates to pick up the slack until you get settled in. It’s a less-pressured environment that is more conducive to new players.
Weapons
Obviously, weapons play an important role in Modern Warfare 3. There are six different categories of Primary Weapons to choose from:
- Assault Rifles: these are standard infantry weapons like the M16 and M4. They are a solid choice, especially for someone starting out. Assault rifles have good range and stopping power and can be effective in almost any situation.
- Submachine Guns: shorter ranged weapons such as the MP5 and UMP45. They don’t have the same range or stopping power as assault rifles but have a higher rate of fire. Players have more mobility and speed when using submachine guns because they weigh less than other weapons. They are deadly in medium- to short-range fights but are outdistanced by assault rifles and sniper rifles.
- Light Machineguns: weapons such as the L86 or M60 that boast a high rate of fire and dish out a lot of damage. They have a high ammo capacity but take a long time to reload. These are heavy weapons, so you will be slowed down when hauling them around. They are also not as accurate, especially when you fire in anything but short, controlled bursts. If accuracy is not your forte, these may be the weapon of choice for you.
- Sniper Rifles: the weapons of choice for skilled marksmen, sniper rifles have the longest range of any weapon. They do extreme damage; one or two shots will take out an enemy. They also have the slowest rate of fire and are generally useless in close quarters combat.
- Shotguns: deadly at close range in small, tight areas but much less effective at range or in open spaces.
- Riot Shield: a giant plastic shield that deflects bullets. When equipped, the player can only melee opponents. Provides mobile cover for teammates and generally annoys enemies.
There are three Secondary Weapons categories to choose from:
- Handguns: your basic sidearm. Pistols are generally only used when your primary weapon runs out of ammo or you don’t have time to reload.
- Machine Pistols: basically a small submachine gun, these can be highly effective. They are usually used in conjunction with a sniper rifle or riot shield. They have better stopping power, more ammo, and a higher rate of fire than pistols and are almost like having a second primary weapon. I’ve had games where I went as a sniper but used the machine pistol almost exclusively with great success.
- Launchers: these are your grenade and missile launchers. Some, like the Javelin, SMAW, and Stinger can take out UAVs and helicopters. The grenade launchers are useful for taking out groups of enemies or dealing with pesky campers.
Again, choose the best weapon that will fit your preferred method of play. If you’re an aggressive player who likes to run around and take the fight to the enemy, then a submachine gun might be the way to go.
Campers may like to wait around a corner with a shotgun. Those who prefer long-range combat should go with either a sniper rifle or an assault rifle, depending on the map.
If you’re unsure which weapon class to go with, then start with an assault rifle. They are well-balanced weapons that are solid in all areas. Pay attention to the fire rate, though.
The M16 is a three-round burst weapon, and the MK14 is a semi-automatic weapon. They are best used at longer range since their slow fire rate is a disadvantage in a closer range firefight.
A shotgun is a good choice here. A sniper rifle? Not so much.
Your secondary weapon choice is partially determined by your primary weapon. If you go with a sniper rifle or a riot shield, then it’s best to go with a machine pistol that will help cover up your primary weapon’s deficiencies. If you have an assault rifle or light machine gun, you are likely not to use your secondary weapon much. In that case, a launcher could be a good idea. You can help your teammates out by clearing the skies of helicopters and UAVs or providing supporting fire with a grenade launcher.
Experiment with different weapon combinations to discover which ones you like best, and remember that all of these elements work together. Match your perks to the weapon and attachments that you use and make sure they fit your style of play.
Stay tuned in the coming days as I’ll cover attachments, Strike Packages, tactics, strategies, and the multiplayer maps. Hopefully these will benefit you in your online battles and help you get as much enjoyment out of Modern Warfare 3 as you possibly can.
